The present invention relates to smoking articles, and in particular, to wrapping materials suitable for use as components of those smoking articles.
Popular smoking articles, such as cigarettes, have a substantially cylindrical rod shaped structure and include a charge, roll or column of smokable material such as shredded tobacco (e.g., in cut filler form) surrounded by a paper wrapper thereby forming a so-called “smokable rod” or “tobacco rod.” Normally, a cigarette has a cylindrical filter element aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Typically, a filter element comprises plasticized cellulose acetate tow circumscribed by a paper material known as “plug wrap.” Certain cigarettes incorporate a filter element having multiple segments, and one of those segments can comprise activated charcoal particles. Typically, the filter element is attached to one end of the tobacco rod using a circumscribing wrapping material known as “tipping paper.” It also has become desirable to perforate the tipping material and plug wrap, in order to provide dilution of drawn mainstream smoke with ambient air. Descriptions of cigarettes and the various components thereof are set forth Tobacco Production, Chemistry and Technology, Davis et al. (Eds.) 1999. Various properties of paper materials used for cigarette manufacture, and of the cigarettes manufactured using those papers, are set forth in Durocher, TJI, 188-194 (March 1985).
A cigarette is employed by a smoker by lighting one end thereof and burning the tobacco rod. The smoker then receives mainstream smoke into his/her mouth by drawing on the opposite end (e.g., the filter end) of the cigarette. During the time that the cigarette is not being drawn upon by the smoker, that cigarette remains burning. Also, during the time that the cigarette is not being drawn upon, sidestream smoke is generated and directly enters the atmosphere from the lit end of the cigarette.
Numerous attempts have been made to provide cigarettes that generate relatively low levels of visible sidestream smoke. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,888 to Perfetti et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,098 to Rogers et al. Certain attempts to reduce the levels of visible sidestream smoke generated by cigarettes have involved the use of tobacco rods having multiple layers of circumscribing wrapping materials. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,543 to Goodman; U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,930 to Gentry; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,419 to Arzonico et al.
Numerous references propose applying films to the paper wrapping materials of tobacco rods. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,909,924 to Schweitzer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,647 to Dashley; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,675 to Milford et al.
Numerous attempts have been made to control the manner that a cigarette burns when that cigarette is not being drawn upon. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,666,437 to Lattof; U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,963 to Cohn; U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,040 to Cohn; U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,553 to Cohn; U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,650 to Weinert; U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,738 to Simon; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,345 to Durocher.
Banded paper wrapping materials that are used for cigarette manufacture possess segments defined by the composition, location and properties of the various materials within those wrapping materials. Numerous references contain disclosures suggesting various banded wrapping material configurations. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,996,002 to Seaman; U.S. Pat. No. 1,999,222 to Wienberger; U.S. Pat. No. 2,013,508 to Seaman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,259 to Norman et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,145 to Adams et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,228 to Baldwin et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,753 to Peterson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,754 to Peterson et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,537 to Bokelman et al.; US Pat. Application 2002/0139381 to Peterson et al.; and PCT WO 02/37991 and PCT WO 02/55294. Methods for manufacturing banded-type wrapping materials have been proposed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,775 to Hampl, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,932 to Mentzel et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,095 to Allen et al.; and PCT WO 02/44700 and PCT WO 02/055294. Banded papers having segments of paper, fibrous cellulosic material, or particulate material adhered to a paper web also have been proposed. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,906 to Myracle, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,999 to Baldwin et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,228 to Baldwin et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,863 to Collins et al.; and US Pat. Application 2002/0092621 to Suzuki.
It would be desirable to provide a cigarette manufacturer with a manner or method to produce a cigarette that possesses controlled burn characteristics resulting from alterations to the wrapping material of the tobacco rod of that cigarette.